


The Wheels on the Bus

by ginger_angel



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Bus Driver!Cas, First Meetings, Gen, Office drone!Dean, Writing Prompt Wednesday
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-16
Updated: 2016-06-16
Packaged: 2018-07-15 12:05:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,363
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7221673
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ginger_angel/pseuds/ginger_angel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean is forced to take the city bus after a flat tire.  The bus driver is a cheerful sort that Dean is first confused by but as the week goes on realizes he likes and wants to get to know better.  Sort of a first meeting story that allows the reader to imagine how things might progress after the story ends.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Wheels on the Bus

**Author's Note:**

> *deep breath* First ever fic that I've put out on the interwebs. I've been telling myself that I'm going to finish a story for years now. So here it is! I'm the only one who has read this story to date so if there are errors please feel free to let me know!

The first time that Dean has to ride the city bus he is extremely unhappy about it. He came out of his apartment on Monday morning only to discover his car had a flat tire and the repair shop wouldn’t be able to get the car back to him until Tuesday. He’s never been on a city bus before. He doesn’t like the lack of freedom to take the route with the least amount of traffic. He doesn’t like having to share a seat on the bus with a stranger, even if that stranger is silent for the entire ride. The bus driver is too cheerful on this Monday afternoon and Dean has had nothing but paperwork, phone calls and not enough coffee in the world to get him through his day. He closes his eyes and lets the sounds of traffic and the other riders calm the craziness of his day.

By the time Dean gets off the bus he’s half asleep and ready to eat a light dinner and put his face in a pillow and sleep. The bus driver tells him to have a great evening and Dean’s so tired he smiles back and waives before he can think better of it.

Tuesday afternoon rolls around and Dean feels as though his head would actually explode if he were living in a cartoon universe. The repair shop called around lunch time and told Dean that they would not be able to return his car until Thursday at the earliest. After spending his entire lunch break arguing with the repair shop Dean went to his afternoon meeting disgruntled and hungry. His coworkers let him fume in silence.

Dean is waiting for the bus with his coat over one arm and his cell phone in the other. He barely looks up as the bus pulls up and opens its doors but he does get a quick glance at the driver as he deposits his fare into the box. The bus driver is the same guy from yesterday and he is just as cheery as he was then.

“Welcome back, sir!” He exclaims with a smile and a wink as he hands Dean his ticket. Dean stops for just a second to stare. Dean realizes this when someone behind him clears their throat noisily so he sits down quickly with a blush.

There are no urgent emails or texts from work so he takes some time to observe the bus driver as he welcomes the riders at each stop. He greets regular riders with questions about their day and comments about their families. He tells everyone getting off the bus to be safe and enjoy their evening.

By the time the bus arrives at his stop Dean thinks this driver is pretty cool. Despite having to deal with all sorts of people – good, bad and indifferent – he continues on like today is the best day of his life. And maybe it is. Who is Dean to judge? Dean gets off the bus and replies to the driver’s parting words with a smile and “Hey man, you too.”

Wednesday afternoon rolls around and Dean is actually looking forward to riding the bus home today. Work wasn’t great but it wasn’t a crap day and he’s in a good mood. He’s going to be just as friendly to the bus driver as the bus driver has been to him this week. The guy deserves it for lifting Dean’s spirits on his way home.

The bus pulls up and the doors open. Dean greets the bus driver with a big smile.

“Well looks who’s in a better mood today,” the driver says as Dean gets on the bus and deposits his fare. “It’s because today is ‘hump day’, isn’t it?” Dean laughs and shakes his head. The bus driver used his hands to air quote. How cute, Dean thinks.

“Man, it’s just good to see a smiling face when I get out of that office. Your energy is infectious, I guess.” Dean takes his ticket and sits down. He finds a seat where he can observe the driver again and doesn’t even pay attention when the notification tone on his phone goes off a couple times. By the time they are almost to Dean’s stop the bus is empty. The ride has been silent and it’s nice. It gives Dean time to think. He should totally introduce himself to the bus driver. He won’t be riding this bus for much longer, but the driver has been nice and Dean will probably be thinking of him for some time to come. Dean clears his throat and notices the bus driver looking at him in the rearview mirror. 

“So, I just wanted to say thanks, man,” Dean says. “I don’t know if you love your job or just love people or what but I’ve already started to look forward to the ride home even though I’ve only been riding this bus for three days.” He pushes the button for his stop even though he’ll bet the driver knows which stop is his by now. Dean collects his coat and walks to the front of the bus. The bus driver stops but doesn’t open the doors.

“Cas,” the drivers says as he sticks out his hand. “My name is Cas.”

“Dean,” he replies as he shakes the driver’s hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Cas. I’ll see you tomorrow, yeah?” It isn’t until Dean gets off the bus and walks the block to his apartment building that he realizes he’s supposed to get his car back tomorrow.

Thursday brings a small miracle when the repair shop calls and says they’re sorry but the new tire they ordered just doesn’t fit his wheel and they will have to send it back and reorder the correct one. Dean tries not to let his excitement color his voice while he agrees to come pick up his car from the repair shop on Monday of next week. He’s got two more days of riding the bus with Cas. It’s weird but he’s really excited about seeing this guy.

When he gets on the bus he sits as far forward as possible so that he can exchange bits of conversation with Cas on the ride home. Cas stills greets every new rider and sends them off with a smile but in between the stops he and Dean get to know each other a little better. Nothing too personal is shared but by the time Dean gets to his stop he knows Cas went to college and had plans to work as an accountant after graduating. Cas learns that Dean isn’t a huge fan of dieting and loves a good cheeseburger. Dean has a good laugh over hearing about Cas’ brother Gabriel and all the pranks that were pulled on him when they were young. Cas sighs over the fact that Dean hasn’t been on a date for 3 years and that his last relationship ended because “I’m allergic to pet dander and he wanted a dog.”

“Dean, that can’t be the only reason he dumped you,” Cas exclaims. Dean doesn’t think so either but it’s been so long that he doesn’t want to talk about it any longer. It just feels good to realize Cas had nothing to say on the subject of his last relationship being with a guy.

“Anyway,” Dean continues, “I just don’t have a lot of time since starting this job and maybe it’s a little bit of an excuse but I just don’t want to put myself out there.” The bus pulls up to Dean’s stop and as he leaves he throws a parting shot at Cas. “Maybe I’ve just been waiting for the right person.” He winks and starts walking up the block missing the stare Cas aims at his back before pulling into traffic.

Friday comes and Dean is a little down in the dumps. He spent time this week on a RFP project that his supervisor asked him to complete only to find out during the department meeting today that the company has “decided to go in a different direction” with the project. What a waste of time! He’s come to realize that his job is crap and he’s not doing anyone any good in the world. He says as much to Cas once he’s on the bus.

“I mean, I see all these people on social media that do wonderful things for their fellow man outside of their normal jobs and I feel like I don’t even have time to help myself. How am I supposed to help my fellow man when I’m spending the day mired in paperwork?” Dean doesn’t like taking his frustrations out on Cas but Cas doesn’t seem to mind. The driver still has his million-watt smile on his face and his eyes look sympathetic.

Cas tries to cheer Dean up by explaining that everyone’s job is important to someone else. “Take a bus driver. If I didn’t drive this bus then Charlie, the redhead that you have seen on the bus, wouldn’t be able to get to her LARP meetings which are her only source of social interaction. If I didn’t drive this bus then Ms. Moseley wouldn’t be able to get to the grocery store for food or the pharmacy for the medications that keep her alive. If I didn’t drive this bus then Lee Chambers wouldn’t be able to get to his job that would allow him to put food on the table for him and his daughter Krissy.”

Dean gets that Cas’ job is one that allows him to help people, but how is a job like Dean’s anywhere near important as a bus driver? Dean sits at a desk and fills out paperwork for cripes sake. He’s still slumped in his seat and doesn’t feel much better.

“Let me put it this way,” Cas continues. “Is there anything that you do want to do with your life, Dean? I mean, I’ve listened to you complain about your job for almost a week straight and it seems like there isn’t anything good about what you do. What if you took your life in a different direction?”

Dean has thought about it. Who doesn’t think about quitting their boring desk job and going for the job they want. But he has responsibilities like rent, car payments and saving for retirement. This job may be annoying but his paycheck says otherwise. He thinks about it for a minute and realizes that he’s just talked himself into a corner. How can he complain about not being able to ‘help his fellow man’ if he’s resistant to the idea of changing his own life? What’s the saying? Go big or go home?

“Uh, yeah. So, I write a lot of fan fiction based on TV shows and movies that I like. I mean, you don’t make money doing it but it’s like this guilty pleasure that no one else knows about and I’m only telling you because I don’t see you outside of this bus.” Dean knew he was rambling at this point but he couldn’t seem to stop. And Cas looked interested so where’s the harm in letting it all out? “But, yeah. So I’ve got quite a following and people keep telling me how good my writing is. And I did take some writing classes in college and those were some of the best classes I had. But it’s just for fun. And I don’t know how you make money out of writing fan fiction. I mean, most of the specific content is copyrighted so I can’t just go sell this stuff without getting in trouble.”

“Have you ever thought of trying to write for the TV stations that produce the shows you like so much? You could try writing something either entirely original or just stick with a pretend episode of a show and see what kind of feedback you get?” Dean is amazed that Cas sounds invested in Dean’s life and is helping him find options for his future. 

“Yeah, I’ve never done that. What if they say no?” This thought is what stopped Dean from publishing his fan fiction in the first place. He’s always been afraid that he’s not good enough or that what he does is not good enough. 

“Oh, Dean. What if they say yes?” Cas looked at Dean through the rearview mirror and the look of fondness and affection caused him to blush. Is this really how Cas thought of him? After only a week of riding this guy’s bus? How could he have so much faith in Dean when Dean didn’t even have that much faith in himself?

Too quickly they arrived at Dean’s stop. As the doors opened, Dean paused. He turned back to Cas and gave him a small, shy smile. 

“So, do you want to get coffee this weekend, maybe? We can talk about this more. Or we can talk about anything else. I mean, you don’t drive this bus every day do you?” Dean is embarrassed that his voice breaks a little during his question but the smile on Cas’ face is so wide he doesn’t think Cas noticed.

“Dean, I would love to have coffee with you this weekend.” Cas grabs a blank ticket and scribbles on the back before handing it to Dean. Dean looks down to see a phone number. He looks up at Cas. Dean doesn’t think he’s been this happy in a long time and it’s all due to one bus driver that just loves his job.

“Awesome,” Dean replies. “I’ll call you, okay?” Dean winks and steps off of the bus. He hears the door close behind him and turns to waive at Cas before the bus pulls away into the night. He’s got a bounce in his step as he walks towards his apartment building. He’s going to coffee with a sweet guy that just happens to drive a bus but seems to understand him like no one he’s met in a long time. Who knew that a flat tire could lead to one of the best weeks ever?


End file.
